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Affirmations and why they help in goal setting and achievement.

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In the previous post, we looked at the reasons why goals are important. In this post, we will look at the value of positive affirmations in goal setting and goal achievement, practical ways to create affirmations, and how to replace negative affirmations based on the truth about our potential.


If I mention the phrase “I could never. . .” you may have the reaction of filling in the blank. Maybe your phrase looks like “I could never lose the weight”, or “I could never write a book”, etc.  Whether you want to believe it or not, that is an affirmation, while not positive it affirms a belief that you have about your capabilities and potential. The power of affirmations, positive or negative, truth or lie, is that they influence what we believe and once we affirm this belief we start looking for and finding evidence of that belief. We often form affirmations unintentionally, in response to life. Unfortunately, most times these affirmations are negative because the brain is wired to protect us, to avoid situations that might harm us (physically or emotionally). If we want to have positive truthful affirmations, we need intentionality.

The power of affirmations, positive or negative, truth or lie, is that they influence what we believe and once we affirm this belief we start looking for and finding evidence of that belief.

You may ask why affirmations are important when we want to set and work on making progress in our goals.  I love this quote by Jon Acuff in his book Soundtracks in which he likened affirmations to the soundtracks of our life: “Do you know what happens when you listen to new (positive and truthful) soundtracks? You give your dreams more time, creativity, and productivity”. In a blog about the value of affirmations, Dr Traci Stein stated that “affirmations can serve as an important tool to staying on track and staving off feelings of discouragement”. As seen in these statements above, affirmations can substantiate beliefs about our potential, help us to stay on track when we encounter obstacles when working on our goals, and encourage us.

Affirmations can substantiate beliefs about our potential, help us to stay on track when we encounter obstacles when working on our goals, and encourage us.

Before we set out to create new affirmations based on truth or replace false affirmations, it is important to note that affirmations are not wishful thinking. If you have a goal to run 5km in 30 minutes, a statement like ‘I am the fittest runner’ will not help you in the process. Our brains look for evidence, which means that every time you take a break in your workout, your brain will contradict that statement with the evidence that you are in fact not the fittest, however a statement like ‘I can run’ is positive and the truth, and every time you run, whether it is 100m or 1km you can add that evidence to the statement.


Identify truth, create a statement, and, seek evidence.

Creating new affirmations can be easy and fun, here are the steps: identify potential in your life, create a statement that supports that potential, and look for the evidence. For example, “I belong in the room”, you may not have the most experience in the team, but you do have the potential to add value to your work and your team members, now every time you make a contribution to the team you can say “I contributed to the project – I belong in the room”. The more evidence you link to that statement, the stronger it becomes, and you will find yourself living up to that affirmation.

Creating new affirmations can be easy and fun, here are the steps: identify potential in your life, create a statement that supports that potential, and look for the evidence.

Replacing negative affirmations with the truth.

Replacing negative affirmations will take concerted effort because they have been proven over time with evidence that has been linked to them. Whenever you become aware of negative affirmations, something like ‘I could never . . .” fill in the blank, take time to identify the truth that is opposite to that statement. A good place to start looking for truth that contradicts negative statements is the Word of God. When you encounter a negative statement, stop, and ask yourself if that is the truth. A dear friend of mine likes to call herself ‘stupid’ whenever she makes a mistake. That statement has eroded her self-confidence. The truth is that she is not stupid, in fact, the word of God says that she has been given a sound mind. Honour the value and potential that God has placed in you and take the time to overcome negative statements with the truth. In doing so you will take the first steps to unleashing your potential.

Honour the value and potential that God has placed in you and take the time to overcome negative statements with the truth.

We are excited to announce that we have finished writing the True Potential Goals Journal that will practically guide you through the process of goal setting and tracking. This journal will also help you through the process of creating new affirmations that will help you achieve your goals. To pre-order your copy please go to the True Potential store. With the launch of the True Potential Goals Journal, we are giving 10% off to the first 10 people who order their copies, for printed copies use the coupon code gjlaunch and for the digital copy the coupon code gjlaunchdigital (valid until 29 April 2024).


Coach U:

What potential would you like to affirm?

What negative statements do you believe about yourself? What is the truth of those statements?


Disclaimer policy: All True-Potential publications are written to assist with growth and discovery, the content of this publication should be used according to our disclaimer policy. Please refer to our disclaimer policy for more information. © 2024 Danelle Venter, All Rights Reserved. #truepotential #coachivanventer #christiancoaching. Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash

 
 
 

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